Red Cabbage and Sausage Soup

Author Notes

This soup is dense enough to be a full meal. In addition to the cabbage and sausage, it’s filled with potatoes and black-eyed peas. But it can also work as a first course, as its brothy base doesn’t make it overly heavy; just serve a cup-size portion to enjoy the deep flavors without filling up. This recipe is adapted from the cookbook “Soup” by Jon Gordon. —Vicky | Things I Made Today

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Vicky has lived in three countries, but currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and son.


WHAT: A hearty, one-pot stew we wish we’d discovered earlier in the season.


HOW: In a Dutch oven, bring vegetable stock, potatoes, and sausage to a simmer, flavored with a hefty amount of garlic. Add cabbage and black-eyed peas, then stir in cream during the final few minutes of cooking. Serve with smoked paprika, then rejoice that you only have one pot to clean.


WHY WE LOVE IT: Cabbage soup, which can be bland and soggy, doesn’t usually elicit excitement. This version; however, trades in traditional savoy for sturdier purple cabbage and incorporates black-eyed peas and potatoes, too. The rich trademark pork flavor is achieved through sausage rather than pork broth, which means you can easily make the soup vegetarian or vegan by omitting the sausage and/or the cream. —The Editors

Ingredients

• 
  1 cup
  
  black-eyed peas, uncooked (or 2 cups cooked)
  
  
• 
  1
  
  bay leaf (if using uncooked peas)
  
  

• 
  Salt, to taste
  
  

• 
  2 tablespoons
  
  olive oil
  
  
• 
  4
  
  garlic cloves, chopped
  
  
• 
  2
  
  leeks, chopped
  
  
• 
  2 tablespoons
  
  cornstarch
  
  
• 
  6 cups
  
  vegetable stock, divided
  
  
• 
  1 pound
  
  red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  
  
• 
  ¹/₂ pound
  
  pork sausages, cooked then sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
  
  

• 
  Pepper, to taste
  
  

• 
  ¹/₂ pound
  
  red cabbage, shredded
  
  
• 
  ¹/₂ cup
  
  heavy cream
  
  

• 
  Smoked paprika, to garnish